


but compared to your eyes (nothing shines quite as bright)

by kouda



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Animal Death, Mild Gore, Minecraft: Story Mode, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, dramatic but ironically, dreamscape-esque world, just someone that is necessary to this story, the observer isn't a canon story mode character, what in the world am i doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-02-10 17:15:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18664816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kouda/pseuds/kouda
Summary: It's not cannibalism if your friend isn't technically human, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> fair warning: i haven't played story mode in a very long time, so characterization may be a bit off. i'm trying, though.

The dark winter sky glowed an indigo shade of blue, the light of the moon exposing the whole sky yet covering the path below already hidden by leafless trees.

Usually, at this time, the forest would be alive in noise and movement: from the bats' wings fluttering, to the bugs hissing protests, to the hellish growls of creatures not yet forgotten by the world, but today everything was still. Except, of course, a lone figure - not tall, not short, simply average; mirroring all of the others who once stood beside him on the ground.

This human, (and he was human, painfully so, the wind whispered to the trees in disappointment) hobbled weakly through the conveniently lit trail, his mind focused on one goal, and one goal alone. Survival.

Oh, how they would laugh if they could see him now! Desolate, injured, starving... the silent observer knew what the other's presence here, of all places, meant. His job was all but laid out for him - even a fool could see the world-weary look in the human's eyes. What a joke. That child, blindly trusting all he meets, hailed as a hero.

Do humans not know the look of despair written on his face?

The Observer shook his head, placing a worried frown unto his face as he emerged from the brush. "Are you okay? I heard crying."

"I-" The human - no, now he is Jesse - can barely choke out the word, only now noticing his wet face as he tries to wipe his eyes. (All according to plan, of course. The Observer always knows exactly what to say to make the other react.)

"...Nevermind." He whispers back, just loud enough for Jesse to hear, who noticeably winces at the word. "I can go, if you would like-"

"No!" Jesse cries out. His eyes are closed now, his fists harshly rubbing to stop his tears. "Please...please stay with me..."

The Observer smiles, and Jesse misses how his empty eyes glow brighter than the moon above.


	2. Chapter 2

Jesse...is confused.

In his life, he's lived through things that most other people can't even have said they've seen before. It's amazing, really. Not even a year ago if you'd told him he'd be hailed as a local hero, he would have laughed. Yet in just a few months, hell, a few weeks, Jesse's entire worldview had been both destroyed and rebuilt. By now, he'd thought nothing can faze him anymore.

Of course, that was before he awoke in a strange world, unfamiliar yet comforting at the same time. It seemed to be uninhabited, at first, at least until the other...man? had appeared from seeming darkness. He wasn't complaining, though.

...He'd rather have a strange other guy talking with him than deal with this alone.

'This'. What did that even refer to, anyways? If Jesse were to think rationally, he instantly knew he was dreaming. Or, at the very least, that whatever he was experiencing - the breathtaking quiet, the pure sense of wrongness he got from the other ('The Observer', a small voice in his head supplies), and the almost psychedelic effects everything seemed to have on his brain - wasn't real. Logically speaking, there was simply no way he could have been transported to...wherever he is, without any memories or knowledge of it. Plus,  _why_ would someone kidnap him? There were too many questions that could be answered with any normal response, so a comatose dream seemed pretty probable.

Just as Jesse had come to this conclusion, the Observer spoke up again. "You seem to have calmed down. Are you better now?" His face didn't change at all, but his tone sounded vaguely concerned.

Actually. Come to think of it. What the heck was with him? Dreams were rare for Jesse, and whenever he had one, usually it had to do directly with an event he had been through or was anxious about. (The last dream he remembered was the day before the building competition, a lifetime ago). And, besides...

This didn't feel like a dream at all.

Oh. The Observer was still waiting for an answer. Jesse nodded once, cracking a small smile that seemed fake even to himself; but the Observer seemed to understand. "...Of course." With that, the two lapsed into silence.

After a while, Jesse fell asleep, dreaming of the times already forgotten by his mortal brain.

(At this, the spirits grow restless; but a quiet hand calms them and assures that they, too, will have their chance to prey)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for it being short (again), but soon i'm hoping for longer chapters as the story develops more :)
> 
> don't expect updates to come this quick every time, though


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaaaaa im so sorry for just forgetting about this for three weeks!!!!!!!! i can't promise when updates will be out but bear with me please! enjoy this brief update :')
> 
> also: this chapter is one i decided to split up -- so the ending may not make much sense on its own

Jesse wakes up, once again. All he can see are miles upon miles of endless wheat, stretching onwards to an infinity.. He’s alone, again, but instead of the mind-numbing, soul-crushing fear and hunger he felt in the dark forest before, he only knows tranquility.

_This is nice, isn’t it?_ Something whispers, brushing its tender lips up to Jesse’s ears before disappearing once more. The crops sway from side to side, yielding no resistance as the wind lightly blows.

It is nice, Jesse silently agrees. To speak would be breaking the illusion, the thin, delicate veil seemingly covering the entire world. Here, Jesse can ease the all-too-common tension creeping up on his bones. Here, Jesse can just stand, no giant monsters, no world-destroying plots, nothing. Here, Jesse can relax.

_Yes_ , the voice continues. _There is nothing to fear._ Jesse closes his eyes, extending his arms as the perfect, clear blue sky shines up above. He feels warm. Safe.

But wait. Jesse’s eyes snap back open. This is a dream, isn’t it? After all, there’s no way anything this perfect could be real.

_What does it matter if this world is fake?_ The warm voice murmurs, putting its invisible arms around Jesse and soothing all his worries. _You’re here, aren’t you? And you’re real._

Oh. Jesse stills in its hold, and allows the presence to wash over him. That’s all that matters, after all.

...he’s spent too long alone. He misses this feeling, the grasp of a comforting, warm existence. A friend? The unspoken question goes unanswered, but he knows what the other would reply nonetheless. _Of course. I am whatever you need me to be._

With this, Jesse looks up, the ghost of a smile drifting across his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh, tags were updated for this chapter!  
> so warning; slight gore ahead!!!
> 
> i wrote this all in literally like, an hour, which isn't very long for 500 words but i am a . very slow writer (so i'm not very confident with my whole angst-y edgy pain pain scene but hey i hope it's good?:) )

“Hey! Jesse! Is that you?” A yell jars Jesse out of his thoughts, making him fall over into the dirt.

“Gah- what are you doing?!” Jesse instinctively snarls, bolting upwards, ready to glare daggers at whoever interrupted him- “Wait, Axel?”

“About time ya noticed me!” Said green-clad man gives him a grin, waving once before glancing around the fields in confusion. “Yo, wait. Uh. Where are we? I remember falling asleep…” At this, he glances expectantly back at Jesse, as if waiting for an answer. “...and now I’m here.”

“You think I know?” The words come out harsher than he intends, like knives, sharp and dangerous. Except, Jesse feels like he’s the one that got stabbed at Axel’s hurt look back at him.

“Woah, sorry dude, I didn’t mean to offend you. I only thought-” The rest of his apology falls on deaf ears as Jesse’s head suddenly erupts in pain. He freezes, and screams, a primal sound that shocks Axel silent and makes Jesse himself wince from the sheer volume.

Falling back on the ground, Jesse shivers, his whole body twitching madly as his torment increases. He grabs the side of his face first, tightening himself into a small ball as he starts rubbing his sore temples; but his attempts to quell his discomfort all end in failure. “Help me…” he whispers in a hoarse voice, but no one’s around to hear his cries. His eyes well up with tears, and he changes his grip to his hair instead, pulling and pulling and ripping out bloody chunks of his own hair and skin (he didn’t know he had that kind of strength, a small part of his mind whispers), but the self-imposed pain is nothing compared to the relentless pounding of his brain inside his skull. God, he wants nothing more than to rip open his own head, to pull apart his face as if it were simply a piece of paper, to tear through all layers to get to the source of the pain-anything to just make it **stop**.

Axel says something. What it is, Jesse can’t hear, too caught up in his own world to focus on outside distractions. He’s on the ground, mouth open in a silent scream, wet tears streaming down his face, his own body strewn about in parts around him, until (yet another) jolt of pain brings him to his senses. And Axel’s screaming back at him, grabbing Jesse’s arms himself with eyes full of panic and desperation.

Oh. Jesse should probably pay attention now, huh?

“ _What_ are you DOING?!” Axel’s already loud voice is higher-pitched than Jesse’s ever heard it, and Jesse stops. (His head suddenly stops its attack on the rest of his body, and he’s left with only confusion. That, and the almost-burning sensation from his still-bloody scalp.)

“I…” Jesse starts, glancing down at his still-restrained hands, (that are covered with a dark, dark red, fingertips coated with the reminder of his mistakes, and it drips down, endlessly, covering him with a constant sick sense of dread.) “...uh…just a minute.” Jesse pauses.

And then he throws up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this entire fic so far has been jumping all over the place but hopefully by the end it can all connect back, right?


End file.
